Avanti virtual tape support for Tru64 UNIX is limited in scope.

•Tru64 UNIX V3.X - No support

•Tru64 UNIX V4.X - Limited support

•Tru64 UNIX V5.X - Limited support

Avanti does not implement or support tapes in their fullest form under Tru64 UNIX.

Read/write operations can be made to a virtual tape file via the /dev/*mt* or /dev/tape/* device special files.  The resultant file cannot be detached from Avanti, nor can a new file be attached 'on the fly'.  However, the tape file can be copied from the Windows side.

Tru64's mt unload or mt offline both serve to close the tape drive's file.  They do not detach the tape file.  Once closed, the file can be copied via Windows processes.

Limited Support

•Tape operations are only supported with explicitly set block sizes.  I.e. Explicit I/O sizes MUST be specified on write operations (tar, cpio, vdump), and read operations MUST use dd with an explicit read size (eg. bs=50k) with a pipe to tar, cpio, vrestore, etc.

•The virtual tape does not differentiate between high and low densities.

•The virtual tape does not support compression.

While the KZPCA wide controller is recommended as the HBA of choice, support for that device only arrives with Tru64 UNIX V4.0E.